More should be done about waste disposal in Nigeria

With the presence and operation of waste management agencies in many states in Nigeria, it can easily be said that we are making progress in the sanitation of our environment. Randomly going through major cities and town on different days of the week, uniformed staffs are seen sweeping the streets, collecting and loading heaps of garbage into designated trucks.  But if we ponder on the efficacy of this method, it would be discovered that it is not as helpful as it is seems.

In the first place, dirt should not be placed in the middle of the main roads, by the road side and other public places where the waste management agents pick them from. Although there is a day of the week dedicated to environmental sanitation, people still manage to litter their surroundings and get away with it. Every day should be meant for environmental cleaning. There are no serious laws and clamp down aimed at offenders such that everyone is cautious of being nabbed. Dropping refuse in the middle of main road is prohibited but how stringent is the execution of that law. How often have there been scapegoats? How serious have they been dealt with?

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It is of no use to gather refuse from public places when in less than two hours after, everywhere is littered with dirt. It thus appears that (whether consciously or unconsciously) the main goal of the waste management agencies is not to maintain a clean environment but to reduce the volume of refuse that deface towns and cities. Ironically, in the process of trying to get rid of land pollution, waste management agencies cannot but cause air pollution as a result of exposing fetid and decomposing elements while offloading them into the truck. A particular kind of truck compresses and squeezes the debris as a way to manage the space in its receptacle. This usually sends malodorous air all over the place, resulting from the juice of rotten citrus and fruits.  What is then the essence of the operation if pollution is not managed but worsened?

There are better ways to handle this issue of waste management; ways that are far less costly yet greatly productive. Nigeria can borrow ideas from developed nations like the United States. Waste collection should be done on per home basis whereby waste agencies, like electricity distributors, delineate a state into zones and regions. Agents and truck are sent to collect the wastes from houses in a particular region. This method will require the government to hire more people and buy more disposal containers and trucks but if well executed will bring the problem of waste to a very minimal level as it creates more employment for jobless citizens. We can also take a cue from a country like Norway that pays its inhabitants on the waste they dispose. In fact the country now has to import waste to fuel its energy program.

Muyiwa Adeyemo

Ibadan